Following an interior design overhaul, Doheny Room’s clubstaurant has relaunched as Sa’Moto, a pan-Asian restaurant and lounge. Started by Iron Chef Morimoto with SBE’s Disruptive Restaurant Group, the food at Sa’Moto is excellent enough to justify starting your WeHo night out a few hours earlier than your friends who always lag. In terms of interior, expect a vibe similar to a houseparty in the Hills, with homey furniture, trendy photographs adoring the walls and beautiful people lingering in every room.
The clubstaurant’s pan-Asian menu, including Morimoto’s signature Buri Bop – prepared tableside in sizzling hot stone pot – is wide-ranging enough to please the pre-night out crowd, with enough nuanced flavor and careful execution to satisfy even those with more epicurean tastes. Their tuna pizza, which comes drizzled in anchovy aioli, offers a refreshing take on the typical upscale tuna tostada dish, while the ceviche prepared three ways inspires double-takes when it arrives tableside, clouds of dry ice smoke billowing from each glass.